Being seen changes everything.

Ben is a writer, spiritual director in training, and a steady guide for people and teams learning how to feel seen in a world that often rushes past what's real. For more than a decade, Ben has worked in the tech space — building trust and solving problems, yes, but more importantly, reminding people that behind every piece of hardware or line of code is a human story worth listening to. These days, you'll still find him showing up daily for clients, teammates, and partners, making sure that the tools they rely on truly serve the people who use them.

Outside the world of IT, Ben pours that same heartbeat into Seen Place — a growing constellation of small, intentional spaces where presence, story, and human care come first. Sometimes that looks like delivering a latte to someone who didn't know they needed a moment of warmth. Sometimes it's hosting a quiet conversation that lets the hidden places find words. Sometimes it's writing something that gives name to an ache people thought they carried alone.

Ben lives with his wife Andi in a midcentury modern house on the southeast side of Grand Rapids — part cozy refuge, part open door for family and friends. Together they've raised two young adult kids who keep teaching them about grit, grace, and how to hold the door open wider. Their 13-year-old rescue dog Ollie, equal parts dignified elder and stubborn old man, shares the house with two rescued cats: Caroline, the gentle observer, and Carlos, the blind-in-one-eye ice cube chasing rascal.

Whether he's helping a client untangle a tech puzzle, scribbling a story before dawn, or sitting with someone in search of what's true and holy beneath the surface, Ben's work always circles back to this: no one should have to walk through life unseen.

And sometimes, the simplest things ... a key turned in trust, a candle flickering in the dark, a small green shoot pushing through broken ground ... are enough to remind us we're not alone.

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